Verdict
An Atmos soundbar with a deafening bass performance and immersive audio acquirement for an all - in - one system . The Devialet Dione entertains in spades , then , but it lacks a degree of vigor and voice a tad processed in how it handles film soundtracks .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
French audio brand Devialet is best have it off for its employment in the hi - fi kingdom , but it has n’t troubled the home cinema orbit with its merchandise – until now .
The Dione is Devialet ’s first soundbar , and given the company ’s hang for developing audiophile products , it has choose to go down an ambitious itinerary with the Dione , produce an all - in - oneDolby Atmossoundbar that does n’t require assistance from surround speakers or a subwoofer .
It ’s been in the making for more than two years and come with a price tag that puts it within spitting length of theSennheiser AMBEO – one of the honest Atmos soundbars on the grocery . So what do we make of Devialet ’s first attempt ?
There ’s a limited edition of the Dione useable in the Opéra de Paris that sport 22 - karat moon gold fundamental home that ’s inspired by gilded Department of the Interior of Paris ’ Opéra Garnier sign of the zodiac . It ’s price at £ 2400 / € 2900 .
Design
elevate the Dione out of its box seat and you ’ll come to know that you ’re handling something substantial . It press a hefty 12 kg ( Sony’sHT - A7000is a bare 8.7 kg ) , including 17 – yes , 17 – equipment driver inside its 77 x 1200 x 165 mm ( HWD ) dimensions . Whether you ’re putting this on a bit of article of furniture , a dedicated rack or bulwark , the control surface will need to be real enough to fit this legal profession .
The height is actually 88 millimeter , if you let in the ORB verbalizer in the middle . The ORB occasion as the bar ’s centre speaker , and in a novel trick it can be reposition for optimal pitch of audio , whether the soundbar is sitting on a flavourless surface or hanging from a wall . It just require to be rotated and fall into place into place .
The majority of the Dione ’s core physical structure is constructed from anodized aluminium , which is prone to smear , so deal carefully . Tough microcomputer - ABS ( Polycarbonate / acrylonitrile butadiene styrene ) is used for the rear , with most of the unit of measurement decked out in a drab grey acoustical framework . I mean the Dione looks fetching in a stately , minimalist way .
There ’s a recessed orbit around the back for connections , with paries - mounting fix on its underside , and on the left side of the top surface are a series of trace controls .
The soundbar does n’t hail with a remote control , so the onboard control are one of two way of functioning . The controls cover activating the soundbar ’s work up - in microphones , Bluetooth pairing , mass , playback control and a multi - function button for power / sources . There ’s an light-emitting diode light that ’s just about bright enough to be visible from a seating position and can be turn off in the app .
Features
As with any Devialet production , there ’s a lot to sink your tooth into on the characteristic count . The company love an acronym and capitalised letter , but before I get to those , lets first count at the various connections and driver apparatus .
There ’s aHDMI 2.1port ( eARC / ARC and CEC compatibility ) , optical and an Ethernet for a hard - wired connexion to the internet … and that ’s it . The lack of anHDMIinput is unsatisfying , a feature film home cinema aficionado would have made use of . It suggests that , like the Bowers & Wilkins Panorama 3 , this is a soundbar more interested in the lifestyle premium side of the securities industry .
There are 17 drivers in the Dione ’s 5.1.2 Atmos setup . That includes eight SAM - power , long - throw woofers for cryptical “ infrabass ” , and nine full - range atomic number 13 driver that cover the rest of the frequency range . They ’re take by a earnestly mighty 950W of amplification .
I mentioned earlier that there were two ways of operate the Dione , but technically there are three . The Phantom Remote is compatible , pairing to the measure viaBluetooth , for alter intensity , play / interruption and bend off the soundbar from the comfort of your sofa .
The remote control is an optional extra , which means most will cluster to the Devialet app ( Android and iOS ) , which offer further functionality such as changing audio style , seeing what trail is play or managingAirPlay 2,Bluetooth 5.0 , Spotify Connect and UPnP wireless sources .
There ’s no Chromecast and no Tidal Connect , and despite the presence of establish - in microphones , no voice assist either . The four microphones ’ master use is for room standardisation , which is rapidly and quiet done . you’re able to delete quondam scans and start another if you move the Dione into another position .
Decoding of audio formats include PCM / LPCM , Dolby Digital , Dolby Digital Plus , Dolby TrueHD , Dolby Atmos ; but there ’s no aboriginal support forDTS . While there ’s no native DTS :X keep , it can make for multichannel DTS audio frequency by convert to PCM via the SPACE listening mode .
And so we get to the various acronyms and capitalised letters I cite originally . SPACE is Devialet ’s upmixing algorithm that upscales mono and stereo content into 5.1.2 audio recording . The idea is that any non - immersive audio can be raise into a spatial mix when trigger off .
ADE stand for Advanced Dimensional Experience and it make an immersive soundscape by speculate sounds off walls and ceilings to give the impression of top and width . Once the way has been scan , this beamforming technology will adapt the bar ’s sound recording to the room ’s acoustics , offset out any reflections that might spoil the performance . I should add that since it ’s think over speech sound off nearby surfaces , a adult , open room wo n’t needfully do the Dione many favour .
SAM is Speaker Active Matching , another feature that enhances the verbaliser ’s delivery and basso reply . AVL ( Adaptive Volume Level ) concord sound levels in the transition from say , an action scene to a negotiation panorama . This aims to see scenes do n’t bounce from something that ’s too quiet to something that ’s too loud .
Sound Quality
The Devialet Dione is a savage in coming into court and a animate being in the performance stakes , although what you get from the Dione will depend on your room ’s acoustic and size of it .
But before I get to that , let ’s demote down the Dione ’s characteristic . Tonally , this is a smooth - sound soundbar , exchangeable to Samsung ’s immersive Browning automatic rifle than the overtly crisp playback of thePanorama 3or HT - A7000 . I ’d actually prefer a crisp - sounding pure tone for film . In my opinion , it offers more slug and plan of attack in the mid - range and bass relative frequency .
Nevertheless , the Dione ’s smoothness help with the reproduction of dialogue via its ORB sum speaker unit . Compared to the Panorama 3 , the Dione bring off dialogue with better pellucidity . The scene in Netflix ’s The Dig , of the wireless message of Britain ’s entry into WWII , comes through much clearer , and the same applies in Tenet , when Kat tells Andre to “ glow in hell ” in the catamaran succession .
For an all - in - one soundbar option , bass is quite unquestionably deployed . Dune and Tenet both feature plenty of meaty bass , with the Dione standing up to the challenge in a intrepid way : bass voice is delivered in a big , loud and volatile manner , enough to shake the room a bit . There is n’t necessarily the extension of blue - end frequency that a separate hoagy could furnish , but you may feel that bass travel through the room just a niggling .
In terms altitude and width of the soundstage , this is where the size and condition of your elbow room may have a more telling effect on the Dione . The testing facilities I have are n’t quite the best fit for beamforming since the wall are far aside , with a couch baby-sit in the fashion of one and the other “ rampart ” is a glass doorway .
When I was sat through a demonstration of the Dione in a hotel room and shown the race chronological sequence from Ready Player One , the ignition of result out wide were sensory , extending the breadth the sound way beyond the dimensions of the legal community . In our test elbow room , partnered with anLG C2 , core and dialogue were close-fitting to where they were locate on - screen , but the height transmission channel were serve well . I can hear K ’s spinster come down from a foresighted way up in Blade Runner 2049 , and in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2 , when Starlord fly around appear for scotch tape recording , the soundstage is described in a spacious manner , delimitate by a good sentiency of depth as he flies away ; his vocalism becomes distant before heading back towards Rocket and baby Groot .
In Mother ! , there ’s tasteful tracking and panning of fiber ’s voices as they roam the star sign ; that sense of distance help the film ’s off - kelter sound design , with voices muttered here and there . The soundstage is , like everything else I ’ve listen to on the Dione , spaciously decorated , the thrumming ambience of Him and Mother ’s house a unceasing audible comportment throughout the film .
However , it ’s in Mother ! where the lack of a nipping tone sees the bar drop off some points . The ring sound that Jennifer Lawrence ’s Mother hears is n’t as sharp relay on the Dione , and therefore is n’t as unsettling or as piercing as it should be . The Devialet ’s definition of the oftenness ’s top - closing is blunted .
And while the bass offers substantial weight , there are time where it ’s heavy - handed . The footsteps of Sapper Morton as he walks into his house in Blade Runner 2049 feels a touch overstated and slightly affected . I ’ve never find out his footsteps delivered quite so heavy as they are on the Dione , and when he puts K through the wall , it ’s as if he absolutely bludgeons him into it . It ’s exciting , for certain , but it also vocalize as if the Dione ham it up its hand .
In Terminator : Dark Fate , the Dione does n’t exhibit the same explosiveness as the HT - A7000 from Grace ’s shotgun as she unloads on the REV-9 in the manufacturing plant scene , and while the chase conniption that follow is weighty , when the dump truck smashes into cars on the highway , it sounds large and bloated rather than precipitous and detailed . There ’s a little subtlety and detail miss here .
And then there ’s the Dione ’s sense of pizzazz , which is n’t profoundly deployed – an issue that crop up watch Netflix ’s The Dig . There ’s an emotional beat between Johnny Flynn ’s Rory and Lily James ’ Piggy : he ’s heading off to serve in the war and comes to say adios ; he turns around , she looks on yearningly as he gets on his motorcycle and the music swells , underscore this as an “ worked up ” consequence . Except it does n’t transpire that means through the Dione .
The euphony does n’t tumesce at all . In fact , the euphony , dialogue and effect level are all keep at an even keel , so nothing abide out . I distrust it ’s the AVL at gambling , and what should be an aroused high-pitched stage for both part falls flat . The Devialet ’s processing plays too fighting a role , and in another aspect from the picture where Carey Mulligan ’s Ms Pretty is surrounded by a multitude of newsperson , the Dione does n’t appropriate the commotion of the view – again , it ’s played rather matted . The Panorama 3 sound more naturalistic in that context .
There are a few other audio modes to play with when listen to stereo content , and you’re able to pair mode with specific sources in the app . Voice brings a slight change ( I ’d say improvement ) compared to Movie with compliments to the positioning of dialogue , rescue a crisper tonus that still maintains the barroom ’s overall smoothness .
Moving on with music , again there ’s a crisper timbre to transactions with the Music modal value . Offering a pick of Bluetooth and Spotify Connect , the latter treats audio with more clearness , detail and better bass , with vocal clarity as you ’d ask over a Bluetooth connexion . A listen of the Football Weekly podcast over AirPlay 2 is likewise clear and crisp in its vocals , with no noticeable sibilant traces .
There were time where I ’d choose listening to medicine in the Spatial fashion . It sounds bigger and lift medicine above the bar , but the Music mode does sound more lifelike with Brigitte Bardot and Serge Gainsbourg ’s Bonnie & Clyde . Whichever mode you choose for , the Dione sound proficient – music playback is clean , detailed and nicely active , the spatial mode adding more weighting , energy and big businessman to some tracks .
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Should you buy it?
The Dione render some of biggest bass I ’ve heard from a unmarried bar solution . If you like your films to rescue on the low - remainder , then the Dione fork up hatful of bang .
The Dione has a slightly heavy hand with regards to the processing in films ; its tone is n’t always the most realistic or dynamic .
Final Thoughts
The Devialet Dione is an impressive endeavour from the French company . The bass is powerful for a individual bar , negotiation replica is dependable , and the gumption of height and width can expand the soundstage beyond the bar ’s dimension . If you could place it in a room that allows its beamforming skills to take centre level , it can be a very skilled and extremely entertaining performer .
But there are times where the helping hand of Devialet ’s processing is too forcefully felt , that need to control aspects of the experience does n’t always bear in the most naturalistic carrying out . There are also a few expected features miss , which mean that while this is a likable Atmos taproom , it ’s a gamy price to pay when you could get likewise comparable performance by spending less .
Trusted Score
How we test
We try out every soundbar we review thoroughly over an protracted period of time . We use industry standard tests to compare characteristic properly . We ’ll always state you what we find . We never , ever , accept money to refresh a mathematical product .
Find out more about how we screen in ourethics policy .
FAQs
The Dione does n’t natively endure DTS soundtracks , so you wo n’t get native DTS :X immersive sound . But , the Dione can take DTS multichannel path , exchange them to PCM and then upconvert into an immersive mix like to DTS :X with its SPACE hearing mode .
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Sustainability
commit Reviews ’ holds the fact that worldwide thaw is not a myth as a core value and will continuously endeavour to help protect our planet from trauma in its business practices .
As part of this deputation , whenever we survey a intersection we send the company a series of questions to aid us gauge and make transparent the impact the machine has on the surroundings .
We currently have n’t receive answers to the questions on this product , but will update this page the moment we do . you could see a elaborated breakdown of the questions we ask and why in oursustainability info pageboy .
